Federer top of 'sick list' for Masters

By Mark Hodgkinson in Paris

12:01AM GMT 31 Oct 2006

This is the time of the season when there are more sick-notes in the locker room than in a double bill of ER and Holby City, and Roger Federer yesterday withdrew from this week's Paris Masters because of exhaustion, meaning that half of the top 10 are missing from the French capital.

At least Andy Murray, one of the sport's newly established names, is holding up for his final tournament of the year. Well, just about. The world No 19 has recovered sufficiently from a sore throat, which forced his withdrawal from last week's Basle event, to play here. But he now has some pain in his right hand after Dmitry Tursunov, the madcap Russian player, struck him with a ferocious "squash shot" during practice at the weekend, and such was his discomfort that he could not shake hands properly after his morning hit yesterday.

"The hand is a bit stiff, but it should be OK," Murray said. "My throat feels fine, but I don't feel as strong as I did a couple of weeks ago. I started practising again last Friday. Each day I've been playing a bit more and hitting the ball a bit better, so hopefully by the time my match comes around I should be feeling better. This is my last tournament of the year, so I feel like it's OK to play one more time." Maybe Murray was enticed by being able to play the Paris Masters for the first time, and he also seemed pleased by the poker and backgammon tables in the competitors' lounge, and the selection of pick-and-mix sweets in there. But perhaps he should hold off the strawberry liquorice and jelly babies until after he plays either Argentina's Juan Ignacio Chela or Thailand's Paradorn Srichaphan tomorrow. The last thing Murray needs now is a bout of toothache.

Federer was feeling fatigued after winning back-to-back titles at the Madrid Masters and Basle, and Switzerland's world No 1 has sensibly preferred to recuperate before the season-ending Masters Cup, which begins in Shanghai a week on Sunday. Although the organisers spared Federer having to fly over from Switzerland in his private jet for a medical examination, they were understandably peeved at the number of top-10 pull-outs.

Before Federer's excuse-me note, Rafael Nadal, Spain's world No 2, the third-ranked David Nalbandian of Argentina, Croatian Ivan Ljubicic, fourth in the rankings, and American world No 6 Andy Roddick had all withdrawn, citing illnesses and injuries. However, with its position in the calendar, it is becoming an unfortunate annual occurrence that the Paris Masters suffers from high-profile no-shows. Cedric Pioline, a tournament co-director, has suggested players should be suspended for missing events, as "given the money they earn, they don't care about fines".

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Murray is already fantasising about having some time off. "I haven't had a proper holiday since I was 13," he said. "I'm also looking at maybe buying a place in London, and also taking some driving lessons so I can get my licence."